Ski

ABSTRACT

The ski core is covered with an upper and a lower metal reinforcing blade, of which the upper blade has front and rear parts with four and two longitudinal slots, respectively, and an unslotted intermediate part; and the bottom blade has front and rear parts, each with two longitudinal slots, and an unslotted intermediate part.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,851,277 9/1958 Holmberg et a1. 280/1 1.13 L M FOREIGN PATENTS 1,288,203 2/1962 France 280/1 1.13 259,480 6/1949 Switzerland 280/1 [.13

Primary ExaminerMilton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnor Attorney- Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Mac Peak ABSTRACT: The ski core is covered with an upper and a lower metal reinforcing blade, of which the upper blade has front and rear parts with four and two longitudinal slots, respectively, and an unslotted intermediate part; and the bottom blade has front and rear parts, each with two longitudinal slots, and an unslotted intermediate part.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a ski having a core reinforced by an upper and a lower metal blade.

Prior art skis of this kind are so extremely resistant to twisting that their lateral adaptation to the trails is not satisfactory. It has been suggested that this defect can be eliminated by providing the under surface of the ski core with one or more reinforcing bands having a width less than that of the ski.

The resistance to twisting of the ski is necessarily the same along the entire length of the one or more bands, whereas for the modern technique used in slalom and downhill, it is preferable to have the front part of the ski less rigid than the rear. part. Moreover, in view of the lack of upper metallic reinforcements in these skis it can be foreseen that temperature changes will very substantially affect longitudinal bending even though the coefficient of expansion of the bands and of the ski edges is very carefully chosen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention ensures that the front and rear parts of the ski have in the fullest measure the desired torsional flexibility independently of the skis longitudinal flexibility, and at the same time that the upper and lower blades render the ski immune to change in temperature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be described, with reference to the FIGS. of the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the slotted upper blade; and

FIG. 2 is a view in section, on expanded scale, taken through the front part of the ski of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to FIG. 2, the ski comprises a hollow core 1 of synthetic plastic, such as fiber glass impregnated with an epoxy resin, incorporating three internal grooves 2. The core 1 is strengthened by two parallel metallic blades 3 and 4, composed, for example, of steel or of a tempered aluminum alloy. The upper blade 3 is embedded in the plastic material except at its two side edges 5. The lower blade 4 is held between the core 1 and a sole 6, which can be made of polyethylene. Two side strips 7, consisting of some material, such as that known under the trademark ABS, highly resistant to abrasion, serve, together with the blade edges 5, to protect the sides of the core 1, which latter is also provided with the usual steel edges 8 in those parts contacting the snow.

FIG. 1 shows that the blade 3 has a front part 9 embodying four longitudinal slots 10, a nonslotted intermediate part 11, and a rear part 12 having two longitudinal slots 13. The intermediate part is slightly longer than the length of the usual ski boots, and is located at that position where the boot bindings (not shown) are provided. The lower blade 4 is similar to the upper blade 3, except that its front part 14 has only two longitudinal slots 15, as does its rear part, not visible in the FIGS.

The slots 10 and 15 in the from parts 9 and 14 of the blades 3 and 4 ensure that the front part of the ski, when twisted, is considerably less rigid than would be the case were these slots not present. Consequently, the front part of the ski can adapt itself laterally to the uneveness of the trail by suitable twisting. It is also apparent that the rear part of the ski is also free to twist, although it is more resistant to twisting than the front part, because the rear part 12 of the blade 3 has only two slots instead of the four in the front part. The described construction enables the skier, in dependence on his technique, to apportion the desirable twist between the front and rear parts of the ski completely independently of the flexibility of the ski in the longitudinal direction. It can be said that the blades 3 and 4 are unidirectionally rigid, in contrast to the nonslotted blades used up to the present time to reinforce skis.

In accordance with the invention, the reinforcing blades can also be applied to a wooden core.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has 

1. In a ski including a core and upper and lower metal blades for reinforcing the core, the improvement comprising; longitudinal slots in the front and rear parts of each blade, thereby leaving unslotted intermediate parts, the front part of at least one blade having a greater number of said longitudinal slots than the rear part of said one blade. 